RAMANATHAPURAM
Rameswaram fishermen have donated ₹ 2 lakh to Chief Minister’s General Relief Fund for cyclone relief work and sent relief materials worth about ₹ 1.50 lakh for the people in the cyclone-affected districts of the State.
The fishermen communities in Rameswaram, Thangachimadam and Pamban areas raised the amount and handed over the cheque to Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao at a function organised on the occasion of World Fisheries Day at Thangachimadam on Wednesday.
They donated relief materials, including clothes, utensils and drinking water cans and bottles, to be distributed to the people in the cyclone-hit districts, especially coastal districts, where their counterparts bore the brunt of Gaja.
“It was a good gesture on the part of the fishermen to come to the rescue of the cyclone-affected people,” Mr. Rao said. After they escaped from the devastation in Cyclone Gaja, Rameswaram fishermen wanted to help the affected fisherfolk in the coastal districts, P. Sesu Raja, a fishermen leader, said.
Addressing the function, the Collector said the World Fisheries Day was celebrated every year to preserve marine fisheries, increase awareness of sustainable fishing and protect the livelihood of the fishermen. He said fishing, a challenging job, was the major activity in the country next to agriculture.
The fishermen catered to seafood needs of the people and the government implemented a number of welfare programmes to protect their livelihood. He said the fishermen extended their fullest cooperation when the district administration took several precautionary measures ahead of the onslaught of Cyclone Gaja. Thus damage to their boats was averted, he said.
Deputy Director of Fisheries E. Kathavarayan, Assistant Directors of Fisheries T. Gopinath and N. Manikandan, fishermen leaders N.J. Bose and Emirit, fisherwomen leader Irudhaya Mary and Thangachimadam Parish Priest Sandiyagu were present on the occasion.
